First Road Car Produced With 3D Printer

Article was created on:

2010-11-03 08:55:23

Article

A 3D printer has been used to produce a prototype road car for the first time, it has been reported. According to Wired, the electric/liquid car, named Urbee, was developed by modelling systems firm Stratasys and engineering group Kor Ecologic.

Urbee had its outer bodywork created by Dimension 3D Printers and Fortus 3D Production Systems by Stratasys' digital manufacturing service. The two-passenger car offers 200 miles per gallon on the motorway and 100 miles per gallon in the city.

3D printing is becoming a preferred option thanks to it getting rid of the need for tooling and manufacturing.

"Other hybrids on the road today were developed by applying 'green' standards to traditional vehicle formats," Jim Kor, president and chief technology officer of Kor Ecologic, was quoted by Wired as saying. "Urbee was designed with environmentally-sustainable principles dictating every step of its design."

The prototype will be on show at the SEMA automotive show in Las Vegas next month.